Using the CANdapter
The CANdapter is a USB device that allows you to plug into the CAN bus and see/send live CAN messages in the system. In addition, the CANdapter also allows you to flash the Orion BMS with custom profiles.
There are two LEDs on the CANdapter - Green (Activity) and Red (Error).
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The green LED flashes when a message was successfully sent or received by the CANdapter
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The red LED indicates either that a CANBUS error frame was received (flashing) or that the chip is in error passive state, meaning that too many transmit /receive CANBUS errors have occurred (solid).
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A common reason that an error occurs is due to the CAN network not having terminating resistors (two 120ohm resistors in parallel for a total of 60 ohms) - verify your network with a multimeter or ask an electrical member to help.
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The CANdapter anaylzer is a tool that can display the messages that the CANdapter sees, and let you send your own CAN messages to the network.
To use:
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Plug in your CANdapter into your CAN network (i.e directly into the board you are debugging or into a network via CAN splitter)
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Plug the CANdapter into your computer via USB and select it from the CANdapter dropdown.
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Set your bitrate (usually 500 kps)
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Hit Start - You should then see the messages being sent across the system with their contents
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If you want to send your own message, enter the ID, Length, and message contents (in binary (I can’t remember if there’s a way to do it in hex)), and hit the "Send Message" button.
The orion bms software also connects to the Candapter. If the CANdapter is connected to the same CAN network as the orion BMS, you will be able to connect and view it’s internal profile. This profile can then be edited with new settings and flashed to the board.
You will also be able to view and send messages in the "Live CANBUS Traffic" tab, similarly to the analyzer.